A muddled defense that included moonwalking and a blackface Michael Jackson costume may be enough for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to keep his job despite widespread calls for his resignation over a racially insensitive photo in his 1984 medical school yearbook.

Virginia’s Constitution says elected officials who commit “malfeasance in office, corruption, neglect of duty or other high crime or misdemeanor” may be removed from office. Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, told USA TODAY "nothing that has happened so far is grounds for removal" under the state's provisions for impeachment.

"There is nothing in his service as governor that satisfies those terms," Tobias said.

On Friday the governor apologized for being in the yearbook photo, which depicted one person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe. But on Saturday he reversed direction, saying he doesn't believe he is in the photo and calling it "disgusting, offensive, racist."

Northam did admit to blackening his face with shoe polish for a Michael Jackson costume at a dance contest in the 1980s. And at one surreal point in his news conference Saturday he seemed to weigh showing off his moonwalking skills. His wife shut that down.

Northam said looking back on his earlier days, he regretted "that I did not understand the harmful legacy of an action like that." The governor, elected in 2017, said he is determined to complete his term.

Tobias said the rules for ousting a governor were built around behavior while in office, not events from 35 years in the past. But if the state's House of Delegates did decide to impeach Northam, he would be tried in the Senate. Two-thirds of senators would have to agree for Northam to be removed.

"He may think he can survive," Tobias said. "It is unlikely that the (state) Senate would convict. But most people don't think it would get that far."

The resignation drumbeat grew louder Sunday. Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, like Northam a Democrat, and Rep. Donald McEachin, a Virginia Democrat and member of the Congressional Black Caucus, said Northam must go.

"It doesn't matter whether he was in the photo or not in the photo at this point," McAuliffe said on CNN's "State of the Union." "We have to close that chapter. It is heartbreaking, but Virginia has to move forward."

McAuliffe said Northam never displayed any racist sentiment while serving as his lieutenant governor. McEachin said he considered Northam a friend but added that the governor has lost the "authority" to lead.

"You know, we're certainly grateful for the contributions he's made to the betterment of Virginia," McEachin said on ABC's "Meet the Press." "But the question now is, is can you lead? Can you help us heal? And given the actions that he's demonstrated over the past 48 hours, the answer is clearly no."

The answer is not so clear to everyone on the state's Eastern Shore, where Northam grew up. The Rev. Kelvin Jones is pastor at First Baptist Church Capeville, about 40 miles south of Northam's hometown of Onancock.

"I think he has the right to prove himself," Jones said. "I think that he has the right to serve until he feels he’s no longer capable of doing the job."

"Growing up, the way we were raised, my brother and I, we didn't see color – and I don't think he saw color either," Northam said. "He just treated everybody as human beings. I think that's a lesson that everybody needs to hear."

Northam is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute in 1981 and the Eastern Virginia Medical School in 1984. He served in the state Senate from 2008-2013 and as lieutenant governor from 2014 to 2017 before succeeding McAuliffe as governor.

If Northam exits, Democratic Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, would become the state's second African-American governor. Doug Wilder was the first – elected six years after the photo was published.

The Northam controversy comes a week after the Republican-led Virginia Senate honored Robert E. Lee “as a great Virginian and a great American,” continuing a decades-long tradition. Some protested the move because of Lee's ownership of slaves and leadership of the Confederate army.

In Charlottesville, where efforts to remove a statue of Lee from a park led to protests and a court battle, boutique operator Racquel White, 42, said resigning would be the "right thing" for Northam.

“As a black person, I do feel disappointed in him,” she said. "I'm said and disappointed."

President Trump referenced the Northam controversy on Twitter: "Ed Gillespie, who ran for Governor of the Great State of Virginia against Ralph Northam, must now be thinking Malpractice and Dereliction of Duty with regard to his Opposition Research Staff. If they find that terrible picture before the election, he wins by 20 points!"

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Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, center, and his wife Pam, watch as the casket of fallen Virginia State Trooper Lucas B. Dowell is carried to a waiting tactical vehicle during the funeral at the Chilhowie Christian Church in Chilhowie, Va., Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Dowell was killed in the line of duty earlier in the week. Pool photo by Steve Helber

A local newspaper the Richmond Free Press, with a front page featuring top Virginia state officials embroiled in controversies, sits for sale in a newsstand near the Virginia State Capitol, Feb. 9, 2019 in Richmond, Va. Virginia state politics are in a state of upheaval, with Governor Ralph Northam, State Attorney General Mark Herring, both Democrats, and Republican Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment involved with past uses associations with blackface and Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax, a Democrat, accused of sexual misconduct by two women. Drew Angerer, Getty Images

A Senate page hands out documents to lawmakers, including State Senator Mamie Locke, right, during a Senate session at the Virginia State Capitol, February 8, 2019 in Richmond, Va. Drew Angerer, Getty Images

Protestors rally against Virginia Governor Ralph Northam outside of the governors mansion in downtown Richmond, Va. on Feb. 4, 2019. Demonstrators are calling for the resignation of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, after a photo of two people, one dressed as a Klu Klux Klan member and a person in blackface were discovered on his personal page of his college yearbook. Northam said that while he had not appeared in the photo, "many actions that we rightfully recognize as abhorrent today were commonplace" and he was not surprised such material made its way to the yearbook. Logan Cyrus, AFP/Getty Images

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, with his wife Pam at his side, speaks at a press conference in the Executive Mansion at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019. Northam is under fire for a racial photo that appeared in his college yearbook. Steve Earley, The Virginian-Pilot via AP

Members of the media listen to a statement from Virginia Governor Ralph Northam speaks about a racist photo that appeared in his 1984 medical school yearbook, at the Executive Mansion in Richmond, Va. on Feb.2, 2019. Northam is facing pressure to resign from both Republicans and Democrats, after racist medical school yearbook pictures, showing him and another person in racist garb at a party. Dan Currier, EPA-EFE

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, left, gestures as his wife, Pam, listens during a news conference in the Governors Mansion at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019. Northam is under fire for a racial photo that appeared in his college yearbook. Steve Helber, AP

Demonstrators hold signs and chant outside the Governors office at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019. The demonstrators are calling for the resignation of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam after a 30 year old photo of him on his medical school yearbook photo was widely distributed Friday. Steve Helber, AP

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam prepares to address a news conference at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019. Northam made a statement and answered questions about the late term abortion bill that was killed in committee. Steve Helber, AP

This image shows Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s page in his 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook. The page shows a picture, at right, of a person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood next to different pictures of the governor. It's unclear who the people in the picture are, but the rest of the page is filled with pictures of Northam and lists his undergraduate alma mater and other information about him. Eastern Virginia Medical School via AP

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam shakes hands as he leaves the chambers after he delivered his State of the Commonwealth address during a joint session of the Virginia Legislature in the House chambers at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019. Steve Helber, AP

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam enters his conference room and heads for the podium, right, where he previewed several of his legislative proposals relating to elections during a media event at the State Capitol in Richmond, Va., Monday, Jan. 7, 2019. Bob Brown, Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam speaks during a news conference in the Crystal City neighborhood in Arlington, Va., Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. Amazon, which has grown too big for its Seattle hometown, said it will split its much-anticipated second headquarters between New York and northern Virginia. Susan Walsh, AP